


Sampaguita

by sunflowerspring



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: M/M, Royalty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-19 04:40:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29745138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflowerspring/pseuds/sunflowerspring
Summary: Jeonghan is the crown prince of the Northern Empire. He was born as a tool to the Emperor's wicked ways. He meets Junhui, a stranger who brought him solace.
Relationships: Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Yoon Jeonghan
Comments: 8
Kudos: 23





	Sampaguita

"Protect our royal highness the crowned prince. Find him now!"

Jeonghan hides behind the dark columns of their royal library. He is alone underneath the bright moonlight. He could hear their captain of the royal guard, Choi Seungcheol, shouting orders outside the oak door. The sound of armor clanking on the marble floor echoed inside the crevices in the palace. He could hear his heart thrumming inside his chest. They were under attack by some unknown rebels inside their kingdom, and he needs to escape before someone captures him.

The oak door burst inside the library, and a flood of footsteps walked inside the center of their royal library. 

"Gather all of their royal books inside the throne room and make sure you will not leave one-bit of their books. We will burn this place to the ground." 

"Yes, Master," they replied in unison.

Jeonghan gasped. He could feel his gut sink. This voice, he knows this voice all too well. He hears this voice every night underneath the covers of their sheets. The sickening sweet voice makes his limbs go weak while he bends under his will. This voice with whom he shared a passionate kiss under the burning candlelight.

He could feel his heart quiver with fear while he watched the man dressed in a dark cloak and a glimmering sword on his right hand as he ordered his men around.

"Moon Junhui," he whispered. 

The man turned his face on the table where he was hidden. 

"Chan, inform our men that we need to fasten our pace before the royal guard's break-in. I am not sure how long Hao and his men can hold them up," Jun said. Jeonghan watches Chan rush inside the deeper parts of their royal library, informing his subordinates.

"So this is where you are hiding? I made sure that our men were able to capture you." Jeonghan watched the man slowly approaching his table. He looks painstakingly beautiful in his dark cloak. It's been a week since they both last met inside their secret hideout. 

"Why are you doing this, Jun?" Jeonghan asked. His hand quivers next to his sword hidden under his cloak. 

"You know the answer, your Highness," Jun smirked. The clanking of swords and screams has stopped inside the palace walls. Jeonghan glared at him. 

Jun snickered. "Yes, I love that look on your face. Beautiful and scared." 

"THE EMPEROR IS DEAD! THE EMPEROR IS DEAD!" 

A loud voice boomed inside the palace. Jeonghan falls onto his knees in front of this man. The Emperor is dead. The corrupt caste system that his father, the Emperor of the Northern Kingdom has created finally ended. A new empire is born under the hands of this man in front of him. "How long have you been planning this?"

"Ages, your Highness."

"So I was only a tool for you, Moon Junhui." Jeonghan closed his eyes and inhaled. There were rumors about the rebels from the Northern Empire planning to abolish his father's structural empire. The poor have been ringing their palace gates, pleading to stop the unjustified murder cases created by the knights and nobles. He never loved his father's values. He was a twisted figure that manipulated the land of the poor and tortured men and women alike to his satisfaction. 

Corrupt nobles would lick the shoes of the Emperor to gain more political power. Women were powerless and defiled by monstrous men. Men, women, and children do not have the choice but to survive in this blood-stained empire while rumors spread about the crowned Prince is like the Emperor, heartless and cruel. Jeonghan kills to protect some of his people, but news circulated in the empire that whoever crosses him will meet the tip of his sword. Nobody dared to cross his path except Junhui.

His mother, the Empress of the Northern Empire, was a victim of the Emperor's abusive hands. There are days when the palace smells like the stench of blood and wine. 

If only his mother could see the downfall of his father. To Jeonghan, his mother was his protector, and she taught him all the means to survive, kill, and love. He did love a man with gentle eyes and a smile, but he barely recognizes the man standing in front of him. The void that was once gone is now back. 

"Master Jun! We found the hidden treasures of the Yoon Empire and the prince is nowhere to be seen." Jun's follower named Chan continues to approach their direction. Chan spots Jeonghan standing in front of Jun. A look of confusion draws his face.

"Capture him," Jun coldly ordered his men. "Make sure you tie him up and send him inside the throne room where the Emperor lies in his pool of blood." Jun watched as Jeonghan's figure tied up by his men, leaving the royal library. He sighed. 

_I thought you left the empire, Han. What are you doing here?_

"Master Jun, we have already finished transferring all of the royal books inside the throne room," Chan reported. 

"Good. Let us head inside the throne room." 

Jun closed the oak doors of the royal library. The smell of blood lingers in the air while dead bodies of fallen guards and rebels scatter around the palace floor. The royal palace guards must have retreated. Chan opens the door to the throne room. He sees his lover laying his head on top of a royal guard's body, a pool of blood surrounding them. There was an arrow that pierced through the royal guard's chest.

Who is this man? It makes his blood boil knowing that his beloved is weeping for another man other than him.

"Seungcheol, wake up. Please wake up, wake up," Jeonghan whispered. Jeonghan's cries echoed inside the throne room. He holds the man's face close to him. "Please, wake up." 

"Jun." His second-in-command, Minghao, approaches him. 

"What happened before I got here?" 

"He is the captain of the royal palace guards and the Empress' royal guard that was entrusted to the prince since he was a child. They grew up together." 

"Your Highness." 

"Do not call me, Your Highness. I am no longer the crowned prince of the Northern Empire. I have stripped down that title after I chose to run away with my lover who stopped answering my letters."

"Jeonghan, what do you mean?" 

"Jun, I waited day and night for your response, but you finally gave me an answer. I was only a tool for you, like how I was a tool to the Emperor's corrupted ideals. I wished I didn't love you too much because I know I can’t hate you. I feel like a fool." Jeonghan chuckles sadly at his current state. 

_Mother, why did you let me live in this world only to become a tool? I am exhausted._

"Jun, we need to continue with our plan. Soonyoung already soaked all the walls and books with gas," the man named Xu Minghao said. 

"Listen to him, Jun. Burn me. You said that you love me, so please grant me peace." Jeonghan looked up with empty eyes at his lover. All the light and hope sucked out of his eyes.

Jun wished he could pull him out of this room and hide him from this chaos. Time slowed down when Minghao pulled up his sword, the tip of the blade resting on Jeonghan's throat.

"You have been talking about nonsense for quite some time now, Your Highness. You don't have the authority to speak as a captive," Minghao said. 

Jun pulled up his sword, directing it to Minghao. "What is wrong with you, Jun?" Minghao angrily whispered. 

Jeonghan released a broken laugh. "'You didn't tell them, Jun? You didn't tell them how I would bend for you until all the candles had burned their light. You should have told them that I was your favorite pastime." 

"Shut your mouth before I slit your throat. I will not hesitate to kill you." Jeonghan stopped laughing and rolled his eyes. Minghao stepped forward and grabbed Junhui on his collar. 

"Did you forget what you promised? Have you fallen in love with the son of a tyrant while all of us suffered? Did you forget about our plan? Innocent lives are dead and starving on the streets because of him." Minghao pointed at Jeonghan's disheveled and silent figure. 

Junhui looks away from Minghao. 

"You are a fool, Moon Junhui," Minghao said, shoving Junhui off. 

Junhui watches as Minghao glares at the crowned Prince while he walks out of the room. 

"Jeonghan," Junhui uttered the crowned Prince's name quietly. Jeonghan looked up at him, all the light left in his eyes.

"Listen to him. He is right, Jun. You can save this empire from me," Jeonghan muttered. 

"I can save you." Junhui crouches in front of his lover. His heart filled with confusion while his hands hover near the rope.

"Jun... Listen to me. I know you can save this empire. There is still hope that you can correct our mistakes," Jeonghan muttered. Eyes downcast and body showing signs of defeat. The smell of something burning has infiltrated their senses. Minghao immediately rushed inside the throne room. 

"We need to leave! Soonyoung has already started the fire," Minghao shouts while smoke starts evading their sight. 

"Why did he start the fire? I did not order him to do it," Junhui hissed.

"Reinforcements are coming. The other royal guards have called for reinforcements from the Duke. We need to leave now! Our men are waiting at the Eastern gate of the royal palace," Minghao said while pulling Junhui up. 

"Wait! What about Jeonghan. We need to save-" Junhui feels a sting hit him on his head and his body slowly falling to the ground. He could feel his eyes closing and hands reaching out for Jeonghan.

"Thank you," Jeonghan whispered while he slowly approaches Junhui's unconscious figure. He touched his forehead and planted a kiss. Minghao looks away. The sound of glass exploded at the other side of the throne room, throwing Jeonghan off guard.

"He will become a great Emperor," Jeonghan smiled weakly. Minghao nodded while he carried his master on his shoulders, their figure slowly drifting farther apart.

Junhui gains consciousness, his vision a blur, and the last thing he sees before closing his eyes is a blond man covered in blood standing in the middle of the room. His back was faced in front of him and Junhui tries to reach him out but Minghao's steps quicken and he watches the man engulfed in fire.

There comes a time when a man will have to face a wall of choices and if the owner of the heart is fickle. Fate will choose for him. 

Junhui inhaled and looked up at the lilac sky. The sun is slowly setting on the west. A soft breeze brushed over his face while he continued to walk inside the garden that he built. Junhui is recovering from head trauma after the insurgency. He doesn't fully remember the details, but he woke up from the excruciating pain after sleeping for over a month and a new title branded to him.

After the royal palace burned down and the reinforcements admitted defeat, news broke out that the noble families fled out of the empire. Some corrupt noble families were tracked down and brutally punished for their crimes. Junhui feels like he is missing important details in his life. He tried to rack his brain to see if he could remember, but it would only result in a massive headache.

Sometimes he sees an innocent beautiful man with platinum blond hair sitting near the balcony smiling at him in his dreams. He wonders who that man is. Junhui finally reached the center of the garden. 

In the center of the garden, there stood a plant of shrubs with white Sampaguita flowers blooming. Junhui planted these shrubs after having dreams of that man. Junhui sits down on the bench and pulls one Sampaguita flower. 

He holds the flower right in front of him and talks to them like they resemble that person in his dreams. 

"Why do you keep appearing in my dreams? I wish you could stop visiting my dreams from now on. If fate finds us together, I hope you could give me the answers that I need," Junhui whispered. 

The sound of footsteps has brought him back to his senses. He looked up and see's the head knight, Xu Minghao.

"Emperor Jun, they are waiting."

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, my name is Pat. It's been a while since I wrote a story after 5 years of being on hiatus. I actually lost the passion to do the things that I love before. Ate Anj introduced me to this Ben & Ben fanfic festival. As a huge fan of Seventeen and Ben & Ben's music, I took this challenge. I chose junhan's pairing because I love rare shipping dynamics. I rarely see fans writing about them. I hope I did some justice to JunHan and to the song that I was assigned to. The story revolves around the theme song Sampaguita which has a broad meaning to it. It took me 4-5 listens before I understood the meaning of the song. It has some political aspect to it but this depends on the listener. Our point of view varies to each one. I noticed that the songwriters are so witty because Sampaguita sounds like a word-play for sa pagitan and Sampaguita. The Sampaguita flower symbolizes purity and innocence while sa pagitan means "in-between" which means the soul is searching for answers and questions if they are right or wrong. Lol, enough about this, I do hope you enjoyed reading the story I wrote even though my grammar sucks. 
> 
> I want to thank Carrot 17, Riza, Ate Anj, Ate Dani, Ate Sena, Ate Val for being there for me through my ups and downs. I love you all.


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